Established in 2012, the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH) is a membership organization open to any employer that is corporately based or that has a significantly employed population in our service area. The Coalition’s service area includes the Philadelphia five-county region (Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties), the State of Delaware, and Southern New Jersey (Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic and Cape May Counties). GPBCH also offers affiliate memberships to organizations that do not participate as employers but have an interest in supporting GPBCH’s mission.

Our mission is to represent the employer community in working with health plans, health care providers and other system stakeholders to improve the value of health benefit spending for members, by improving health care quality and safety and reducing health care costs.

Coalition Initiatives
GPBCH’s Officers and Board of Directors set the Coalition agenda with input from work groups that are open to all members. Examples of Coalition initiatives and accomplishments include:

• Creating transparency on hospital safety by serving as the “regional leader” for the Leapfrog Group’s hospital survey – a national initiative that encourages hospitals to voluntarily disclose data on safety practices and outcomes. Since GPBCH began its Leapfrog initiative, the number of hospitals in the region that report their data has increased from 3 to 32 (out of 53). In addition to continuing to promote Leapfrog standards, GPBCH has created the nation’s first regional report on cancer care services.

• Developing and disseminating tools to improve employee health and well-being, such as a guide to the best smartphone apps and websites to promote healthy lifestyles, and tips for healthy eating during the holiday season. The Coalition also participates in the “Philadelphia Health Initiative” aimed at reducing obesity rates, and established a Diabetes Prevention Learning Collaborative in which employers are sharing data and best practices, and learning from national experts.

• Promoting Value-based Insurance Design (VBID), encouraging employers to reconfigure benefits so as to promote use of high-value services and discourage use of low-value services. The Coalition partnered with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health in creating VBID recommendations for smoking cessation, lipid management, blood pressure control, and diabetes management, and continues to help employers implement and evaluate VBID initiatives.